Thermophilic amino acid biosynthesis system enzyme gene of thermotolerant coryneform bacterium

ABSTRACT

A plurality of primer sets are designed based on a region where conservation at the amino acid level is observed among various microorganisms for known gene sequences corresponding to a gene coding for an enzyme of the L-amino acid biosynthetic pathway derived from  Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes , preferably an enzyme that functions at a higher temperature compared with that of  Corynebacterium glutamicum . PCR is performed by using the primers and chromosomal DNA of  Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes  as a template. The primers with which an amplification fragment has been obtained are used as primers for screening to select a clone containing a target DNA fragment from a plasmid library of chromosomal DNA of  Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to heat resistant enzyme genes, in particular, genes for enzymes of biosynthetic pathway and uptake system of L-amino acids such as L-glutamic acid, of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, which is a thermophilic coryneform bacterium.

BACKGROUND ART

The current main stream of the production of L-amino acids such as L-glutamic acid is the fermentative production utilizing coryneform bacteria. As for the fermentative production of L-amino acids, it has been attempted to reduce the cost based on breeding of strains with superior productivity and development of fermentation techniques. Although conventional attempts for realizing the cost reduction were mainly directed to achieving higher yield, energy required for cooling the fermentation heat generated during the culture cannot be ignored in addition to the raw material as the factors concerning the fermentation cost. That is, as for usual microorganisms used for the fermentation, the temperature of the medium rises due to fermentation heat generated by the microorganism themselves during the fermentation, and hence enzymes required for the fermentation may be inactivated or the productive bacteria may be killed. Therefore, it is necessary to cool the medium during the fermentation. Accordingly, in order to reduce the cooling cost, fermentation at high temperatures has been studied for many years. Moreover, if high temperature fermentation becomes possible, the reaction rate may also be improved. However, as for the L-amino acid fermentation, effective high temperature culture has not been realized so far.

Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes is a bacterium classified into coryneform bacteria like Corynebacterium glutamicum (Brevibacterium lactofermentum), which is commonly used for the fermentation of L-amino acids. However, it shows the optimum growth temperature of 37–43° C., which is higher than that of Corynebacterium glutamicum, i.e., 30–35° C., and shows the optimum temperature for L-glutamic acid production of 42–45° C., which is considerably shifted to the high temperature region (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 63-240779/1988).

Meanwhile, there have been developed techniques for enhancing L-amino acid producing ability of Corynebacterium and Brevibacterium bacteria by introducing a gene coding for an L-amino acid synthesis system enzyme derived from Escherichia coli or Corynebacterium glutamicum into them. Examples of such an enzyme include, for example, citrate synthase (Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 7-121228/1995), which is an enzyme of the L-glutamic acid biosynthetic pathway, glutamate dehydrogenase (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 61-268185/1986), isocitrate dehydrogenase, aconitate hydratase (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 63-214189) and so forth.

However, any L-amino acid biosynthesis enzymes and genes coding for them derived from thermophilic coryneform bacteria have not been reported.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide genes coding for enzymes derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, preferably enzymes that function at a temperature higher than those of Corynebacterium glutamicum.

The inventors of the present invention extensively studied in order to achieve the aforementioned object. As a result, they successfully isolated genes coding for enzymes of the amino acid biosynthetic pathway of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, or genes coding for proteins involved in the uptake of amino acids into cells, and thus achieved the present invention.

That is, the present invention provides the followings.

-   (1) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has isocitrate lyase activity and shows 30% or     more of residual activity after a heat treatment at 50° C. for 5     minutes. -   (2) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which is involved in acyl Co-A carboxylase activity     derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes. -   (3) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has DtsR activity derived from Corynebacterium     thermoaminogenes. -   (4) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has DtsR activity derived from Corynebacterium     thermoaminogenes. -   (5) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which shows phosphofructokinase activity at 60° C.     in an equivalent or higher degree compared with the activity at 30°     C. -   (6) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 94 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 94 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has activity for imparting sucrose     assimilating ability to Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes. -   (7) A protein having any one of the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID     NOS: 17–20 or the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOS:     17–20 including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or     inversion of one or several amino acids residues, which has a     function involved in glutamic acid uptake and derived from     Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes. -   (8) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has pyruvate dehydrogenase activity derived     from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes. -   (9) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24 or the     amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has pyruvate carboxylase activity derived from     Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes. -   (10) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26 or     the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26 including substitution,     deletion, insertions, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity     and shows 50% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at     45° C. for 5 minutes. -   (11) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28 or     the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has aconitase activity and shows 30% or more     of residual activity after a heat treatment at 50° C. for 3 minutes. -   (12) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 30 or     the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 30 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has isocitrate dehydrogenase activity and     shows 50% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at     45° C. for 10 minutes. -   (13) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32 or     the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase activity     derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes. -   (14) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34 or     the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34 including substitution,     deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino     acids residues, which has 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity and     shows 30% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at     50° C. for 10 minutes. -   (15) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 80 in     Sequence Listing or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 80     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, which shows glutamate     dehydrogenase activity at 42° C. in an equivalent or higher degree     compared with the activity at 37° C. -   (16) A protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 90 in     Sequence Listing or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 90     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, which shows citrate synthase     activity at 37° C. in an equivalent or higher degree compared with     the activity at 23° C. -   (17) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 2 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 including     substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or     several amino acids residues, and having isocitrate lyase activity. -   (18) The DNA according to (17), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a1) or (b1):

(a1) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 in Sequence Listing,

-   -   (b1) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 1 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having isocitrate lyase activity.

-   (19) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 4 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 including     substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or     several amino acids residues, and involved in acyl Co-A carboxylase     activity.

-   (20) The DNA according to (19), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a2) or (b2):     -   (a2) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         3 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b2) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 3 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein involved in acyl Co-A carboxylase activity.

-   (21) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 6 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 including     substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or     several amino acids residues, and having DtsR activity.

-   (22) The DNA according to (21), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a3) or (b3):     -   (a3) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         5 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b3) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 5 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having DtsR activity.

-   (23) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 8 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 including     substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or     several amino acids residues, and having DtsR activity.

-   (24) The DNA according to (23), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a4) or (b4):     -   (a4) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         7 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b4) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 7 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having DtsR activity.

-   (25) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 10 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having     phosphofructokinase activity.

-   (26) The DNA according to (25), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a5) or (b5):     -   (a5) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         9 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b5) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 9 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having phosphofructokinase activity.

-   (27) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 93 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 93     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having invertase     activity.

-   (28) The DNA according to (27), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a6) or (b6):     -   (a6) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         93 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b6) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 93 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having invertase activity.

-   (29) A DNA which codes for a protein having any one of the amino     acid sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 17–20 or the amino acid sequence of     any one of SEQ ID NOS: 17–20 including substitution, deletion,     insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino acids     residues, and having a function involved in glutamic acid uptake.

-   (30) The DNA according to (29), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a7) or (b7):     -   (a7) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         16 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b7) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 16 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having a function involved in glutamic acid         uptake.

-   (31) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 22 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having pyruvate     dehydrogenase activity.

-   (32) The DNA according to (31), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a8) or (b8):     -   (a8) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         21 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b8) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 21 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having pyruvate dehydrogenase activity.

-   (33) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 24 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having pyruvate     carboxylase activity.

-   (34) A DNA according to (33), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a9) or (b9):     -   (a9) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         23 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b9) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of         SEQ ID NO: 23 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based on         the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and codes         for a protein having pyruvate carboxylase activity.

-   (35) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 26 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having     phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity.

-   (36) The DNA according to (35), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a10) or (b10):     -   (a10) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 25 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b10) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence         of SEQ ID NO: 25 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based         on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and         codes for a protein having phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase         activity.

-   (37) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 28 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having aconitase     activity.

-   (38) The DNA according to (37), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a11) or (b11):     -   (a11) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 27 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b11) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence         of SEQ ID NO: 27 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based         on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and         codes for a protein having aconitase activity.

-   (39) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 30 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 30     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having isocitrate     dehydrogenase activity.

-   (40) The DNA according to (39), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a12) or (b12):     -   (a12) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 27 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b12) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence         of SEQ ID NO: 27 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based         on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and         codes for a protein having isocitrate dehydrogenase activity.

-   (41) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 32 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having dihydrolipoamide     dehydrogenase activity.

-   (42) The DNA according to (41), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a13) or (b13):     -   (a13) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 31 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b13) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence         of SEQ ID NO: 31 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based         on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and         codes for a protein having dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase         activity.

-   (43) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 34 or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34     including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion     of one or several amino acids residues, and having 2-oxoglutarate     dehydrogenase activity.

-   (44) The DNA according to (43), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a14) or (b14):     -   (a14) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 33 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b14) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence         of SEQ ID NO: 33 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based         on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and         codes for a protein having 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase         activity.

-   (45) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 80 in Sequence Listing or the amino acid sequence of     SEQ ID NO: 80 including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition     or inversion of one or several amino acids residues, and showing     glutamate dehydrogenase activity at 42° C. in an equivalent or     higher degree compared with the activity at 37° C.

-   (46) The DNA according to (45), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a15) or (b15):     -   (a15) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 79 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b15) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence         of SEQ ID NO: 79 in Sequence Listing or a primer prepared based         on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and         codes for a protein showing glutamate dehydrogenase activity at         42° C. in an equivalent or higher degree compared with the         activity at 37° C.

-   (47) A DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence     of SEQ ID NO: 90 in Sequence Listing or the amino acid sequence of     SEQ ID NO: 90 including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition     or inversion of one or several amino acids residues, and showing     citrate synthase activity at 37° C. in an equivalent or higher     degree compared with the activity at 23° C.

-   (48) The DNA according to (47), which is a DNA defined in the     following (a16) or (b16):     -   (a16) a DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 89 in Sequence Listing,     -   (b16) a DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence         of SEQ ID NO: 89 in sequence Listing or a primer prepared based         on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and         codes for a protein showing citrate synthase activity at 37° C.         in an equivalent or higher degree compared with the activity at         23° C.

-   (49) A method for producing L-amino acid, which comprises culturing     a microorganism introduced with a DNA according to any one of (17)     to (48) in a medium to produce and accumulate L-amino acid in the     medium, and collecting the L-amino acid from the medium.

The term “DNA of the present invention” is used hereinafter for referring to either one or all of the aforementioned DNAs.

Hereafter, the present invention will be explained in detail.

The nucleotide sequences of the DNA of the present invention, names of the genes, and the proteins encoded by the DNA of the present invention are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Nucleotide Name of sequence gene Encoded protein (abbreviation) SEQ ID NO: 1 aceA Isocitrate lyase (ICL) SEQ ID NO: 3 accBC acyl Co-A carboxylase BC subunit SEQ ID NO: 5 dtsR1 DTSR1 protein SEQ ID NO: 7 dtsR2 DTSR2 protein SEQ ID NO: 9 pfk Phosphofructokinase SEQ ID NOS: scrB Invertase 11, 13, 15, 93 SEQ ID NO: 16 gluABCD glutamic acid uptake system SEQ ID NO: 21 pdhA pyruvate dehydrogenase SEQ ID NO: 23 pc pyruvate carboxylase SEQ ID NO: 25 ppc phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase SEQ ID NO: 27 acn aconitase SEQ ID NO: 29 icd isocitrate dehydrogenase SEQ ID NO: 31 lpd dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase SEQ ID NO: 33 odhA 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase SEQ ID NO: 79 gdh glutamate dehydrogenase SEQ ID NO: 89 gltA citrate synthase

The open reading frames (ORFS) of SEQ ID NOS: 3, 23, 25, 31 and 33 and the fourth ORF of SEQ ID NO: 16 all start from GTG. Although the amino acids encoded by these GTG are indicated as valine in Sequence Listing, they may be methionine.

The sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16 contains four ORFs, which correspond to gluA, gluB, gluC and gluD in this order from the 5′ end side.

The aforementioned DNA sequences were isolated from chromosomal DNA of the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain (FERM BP-1542). However, the DNA sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 11 and 13 were isolated from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12340 strain (FERM BP-1539) and AJ12309 strain (FERM BP-1541), respectively, which had invertase activity and sucrose assimilating property, because the AJ12310 strain did not have invertase activity and sucrose assimilating property, and the scrB gene isolated from the strain had not any open reading frame.

The Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain (also referred to as YS-314 strain) and AJ12309 strain (also referred to as YS-155 strain) were deposited at the National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (postal code: 305-8566, 1-3, Higashi 1-chome, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan) on Mar. 13, 1987 and given deposition numbers of FERM P-9246 and FERM P-9245, respectively. Then, they were transferred to international depositions under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty on Oct. 27, 1987, and given deposition numbers of FERM BP-1542 and FERM BP-1541, respectively.

The AJ12340 strain (also referred to as YS-40 strain) was deposited at the National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (postal code: 305-8566, 1-3, Higashi 1-chome, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan) on Mar. 10, 1987 and given a deposition number of FERM P-9277. Then, it was transferred to an international deposition under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty on Oct. 27, 1987, and given a deposition number of FERM BP-1539.

The nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 11, 13 and 15 are partial sequences of scrB, and the sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 11 and 13 code for partial amino acid sequences of invertase shown in SEQ ID NOS: 12 and 14.

A DNA sequence containing a partial fragment of a target gene can be obtained by comparing already reported nucleotide sequences for the target gene of various microorganisms such as Brevibacterium lactofermentum to select a region containing a well-conserved nucleotide sequence, and carrying out PCR using primers designed based on the nucleotide sequence of the region and chromosomal DNA of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes as a template. Further, by performing hybridization using the obtained DNA fragment or a probe prepared based on the sequence of the fragment to screen a chromosomal DNA library of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, a DNA fragment containing the gene in its full length can be obtained. A DNA fragment containing the gene in its full length can also be obtained by performing genome walking using the obtained partial fragment of the gene. The genome walking can be carried out by using a commercially available kit, for example, TaKaRa LA PCR in vitro Cloning Kit (produced by Takara Shuzo).

For example, a partial sequence of DNA coding for glutamate dehydrogenase (henceforth the DNA is also referred to as “gdh”, and the enzyme is also referred to as “GDH”) can be obtained from chromosomal DNA of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes such as the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) using the chromosomal DNA as a template and primers having the nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 77 and 78 of Sequence Listing. Further, by performing genome walking using the obtained partial fragment, the whole gdh gene can be obtained.

Further, a partial sequence of DNA coding for citrate synthase (henceforth the DNA is also referred to as “gltA”, and the enzyme is also referred to as “CS”) can be obtained from chromosomal DNA of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes such as the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) using the chromosomal DNA as a template and primers having the nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 83 and 84 of Sequence Listing. Further, by performing genome walking using the obtained partial fragment, the whole gltA gene can be obtained.

The nucleotide sequences of the aforementioned primers were designed based on a nucleotide sequence in a region containing a well-conserved nucleotide sequence among the already reported gdh genes or gltA genes of various microorganisms, which region was found by comparison of the genes.

As for DNA sequences coding for the other enzymes, partial fragments coding for those enzymes can be similarly obtained by using the primers mentioned in Table 1, and the genes in full length can be obtained by using the obtained partial fragments.

While the DNA of the present invention was obtained as described above, it can also be obtained from a chromosomal DNA library of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes by hybridization using an oligonucleotide prepared based on the nucleotide sequences of the DNA of the present invention as a probe.

Methods for preparation of chromosomal DNA, construction of chromosomal DNA library, hybridization, PCR, preparation of plasmid DNA, digestion and ligation of DNA, transformation and so forth are described in Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F., Maniatis, T., Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1.21 (1989). Further, genome walking can be performed by using a commercially available kit, for example, TaKaRa LA PCR in vitro Cloning Kit (produced by Takara Shuzo).

Specific methods for obtaining the DNA of the present invention will be explained hereafter.

First, chromosomal DNA of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes is digested with a suitable restriction enzyme, for example, Sau3AI, and fractionated by agarose gel electrophoresis to obtain a DNA fragment of about 4 to 6 kb. The obtained DNA fragment is inserted into a cloning vector such as pHSG399, and Escherichia coli is transformed with the obtained recombinant plasmid to produce a plasmid library of the chromosomal DNA.

Separately, primers are produced for use in selecting a clone containing a target gene from a plasmid library by PCR. These primers are designed based on conserved amino acid regions from various microorganisms corresponding to the gene of interest. In the design of primers, a plurality of primer sets are designed considering the codon usage of coryneform bacteria.

Then, in order to investigate propriety of the produced primers, PCR is performed by using these primers and chromosomal DNA of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes as a template. Further, PCR is performed by using primers from which an amplification fragment has been obtained as primers for screening and a recombinant plasmid prepared from the plasmid library as a template to select a clone containing the target DNA fragment. This operation can be quickly carried out by performing the PCR for every batch including several tens of transformant strains as primary screening and performing colony PCR for the batch with which an amplification fragment was obtained as secondary screening. The fragment lengths of the amplified genes are shown in Tables 2 to 7.

If a transformant selected as described above contains a target gene is confirmed by preparing a recombinant DNA from the transformant selected as described above, determining the nucleotide sequence of the inserted fragment by the dideoxy termination method, and comparing the nucleotide sequence with a known gene sequence.

When the obtained DNA fragment contains a part of the target gene, the deleted part is obtained by genome walking.

The DNA of the present invention may code for a protein including substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or several amino acids residues, so long as the encoded protein has its original function. The number meant by the term “several” may vary depending on positions in the three-dimensional structure of protein or kinds of amino acid residues. However, in general, such a protein preferably shows homology of 30 to 40% or more, more preferably 55 to 65% or more, with respect to a corresponding whole amino acid sequence of the protein. More specifically, the term “several” means a number of 2 to several hundreds, preferably 2 to several tens, more preferably 2 to 10.

Nucleotide and amino acid sequence were analyzed by, for exmaple, the method developed by Lipman and Peason (Science, 227, 1435–1441, 1985) by using commercially available softoware such as Genetyx-Mac computer program (Software Development Co., Tokyo, Japan).

GDH may be one showing homology of 40 to 80% or more, preferably 80 to 90% or more, for the total amino acid sequence constituting GDH, and showing GDH activity at 42° C. equivalent to or higher than the activity at 37° C. In this case, the term “several” means a number of 2 to 30, preferably 2 to 50, more preferably 2 to 10.

CS may be one showing homology of 40 to 80% or more, preferably 80 to 90% or more, for the total amino acid sequence constituting CS, and showing CS activity at 37° C. equivalent to or higher than the activity at 23° C. In this case, the term “several” means a number of 2 to 300, preferably 2 to 50, more preferably 2 to 10.

A DNA, which codes for the substantially same protein as the original protein as described above, can be obtained by, for example, modifying the nucleotide sequence, for example, by means of the site-directed mutagenesis so that one or more amino acid residues at a specific site should involve substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion. A DNA modified as described above may also be obtained by a conventionally known mutation treatment. The mutation treatment includes a method for treating DNA coding for a target gene in vitro, for example, with hydroxylamine, and a method for treating a microorganism, for example, a bacterium belonging to the genus Escherichia, harboring DNA coding for the target gene with ultraviolet irradiation or a mutating agent usually used for the mutation treatment such as N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) and nitrous acid.

The substitution, deletion, insertion, addition, or inversion of nucleotides as described above also includes mutant or variant that naturally occurs due to the difference of strains of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes or the like.

A DNA coding for substantially the same protein as the original protein can be obtained by expressing DNA having a mutation in an appropriate cell, and investigating activity or function of the expressed product protein. The DNA coding for substantially the same protein as the original protein can also be obtained by, for example, isolating a DNA which is hybridizable with a DNA having each of the nucleotide sequences of the sequences of which sequence numbers are mentioned in Table 1 or a coding region thereof, or a probe designed based on the nucleotide sequence under a stringent condition, and which codes for a protein having the activity originally possessed by the protein, from DNA coding for a protein having a mutation or from a cell harboring it. The activity preferably means each enzymatic activity at 42° C. for GDH or 37° C. for CS.

The aforementioned probe can be prepared from a DNA having any one of the nucleotide sequences of which sequence numbers are shown in Table 1 or a DNA having any one of the nucleotide sequences by PCR using suitable primers.

The “stringent condition” referred to herein is a condition under which so-called specific hybrid is formed, and non-specific hybrid is not formed. It is difficult to clearly express this condition by using any numerical value. However, for example, the stringent condition includes a condition under which DNAs having high homology, for example, DNAs having homology of not less than 50% are hybridized with each other, and DNAs having homology lower than the above are not hybridized with each other. Alternatively, the stringent condition is exemplified by a condition under which DNAs are hybridized with each other at a salt concentration corresponding to an ordinary condition of washing in southern hybridization, i.e., 60° C., 1× SSC, 0.1% SDS, preferably 0.1× SSC, 0.1% SDS.

The gene, which is hybridizable under the condition as described above, includes those having a stop codon generated in the gene, and those having no activity due to mutation of active site. However, such genes can be easily removed by ligating the genes with a commercially available activity expression vector, and measuring the activity or function.

A protein corresponding to each DNA of the present invention can be produced by expressing the DNA in a suitable host-vector system.

As the host used for the expression of a gene, there can be mentioned various prokaryotic cells including Brevibacterium lactofermentum (Corynebacterium glutamicum), coryneform bacteria such as Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and so forth, and various eucaryocytic cells including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, animal cells and plant cells. Among these, prokaryotic cells, in particular, coryneform bacteria and Escherichia coli are preferred.

If the DNA of the present invention is ligated to a vector DNA autonomously replicable in cells of Escherichia coli and/or coryneform bacteria and so forth to form a recombinant DNA, and this recombinant DNA is introduced into an Escherichia coli cell, the subsequent procedure becomes easy. The vector autonomously replicable in Escherichia coli cells is preferably a plasmid vector autonomously replicable in the host cell, and examples thereof include pUC19, pUC18, pBR322, pHSG299, pHSG399, pHSG398, RSF1010 and so forth.

As the vector autonomously replicable in coryneform bacterium cells, there can be mentioned pAM330 (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 58-67699/1983), pHM1519 (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 58-77895/1983) and so forth. Moreover, if a DNA fragment having an ability to make a plasmid autonomously replicable in coryneform bacteria is taken out from these vectors and inserted into the aforementioned vectors for Escherichia coli, they can be used as a so-called shuttle vector autonomously replicable in both of Escherichia coli and coryneform bacteria.

Examples of such a shuttle vector include those mentioned below. There are also indicated microorganisms that harbor each vector, and accession numbers thereof at international depositories are shown in the parentheses, respectively.

-   pAJ655 Escherichia coli AJ11882 (FERM BP-136) Corynebacterium     glutamicum SR8201 (ATCC39135) -   pAJ1844 Escherichia coli AJ11883 (FERM BP-137) Corynebacterium     glutamicum SR8202 (ATCC39136) -   pAJ611 Escherichia coli AJ11884 (FERM BP-138) -   pAJ3148 Corynebacterium glutamicum SR8203 (ATCC39137) -   pAJ440 Bacillus subtilis AJ11901 (FERM BP-140) -   pHC4 Escherichia coli AJ12617 (FERM BP-3532)

In order to prepare a recombinant DNA by ligating the DNA of the present invention and a vector that functions in coryneform bacteria, the vector is digested with a restriction enzyme that provides an end corresponding to an end of the DNA of the present invention. The ligation is normally attained by using a ligase such as T4 DNA ligase.

To introduce the recombinant DNA prepared as described above into a host such as coryneform bacteria, any known transformation methods that have hitherto been reported can be employed. For instance, employable are a method of treating recipient cells with calcium chloride so as to increase the permeability for DNA, which has been reported for Escherichia coli K-12 (Mandel, M. and Higa, A., J. Mol. Biol., 53, 159 (1970)), and a method of preparing competent cells from cells which are at the growth phase followed by introducing the DNA thereinto, which has been reported for Bacillus subtilis (Duncan, C. H., Wilson, G. A. and Young, F. E., Gene, 1, 153 (1977)). In addition to these, also employable is a method of making DNA-recipient cells into protoplasts or spheroplasts, which can easily take up recombinant DNA, followed by introducing the recombinant DNA into the cells, which is known to be applicable to Bacillus subtilis, actinomycetes and yeasts (Chang, S. and Choen, S. N., Molec. Gen. Genet., 168, 111 (1979); Bibb, M. J., Ward, J. M. and Hopwood, O. A., Nature, 274, 398 (1978); Hinnen, A., Hicks, J. B. and Fink, G. R., Proc. Natl. Sci. USA, 75, 1929 (1978)). The transformation of coryneform bacteria can be effectively performed by the electric pulse method (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2-207791).

As for the transformation of thermophilic coryneform bacteria such as Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, it can be efficiently performed by treating cells with an agent that changes the structure of cell walls of the host cells, and applying an electric pulse to a solution containing DNA and the cells of which structure of the cell walls have been changed. The aforementioned agent is an agent that can change the structure of cell walls so that the cells can uptake the DNA when an electric pulse is applied to a solution containing the cells treated with the agent and the DNA (henceforth also referred to as a “cell wall treatment agent”). Examples of such an agent include agents that inhibit normal synthesis of bacterial cell wall and agents that lyse bacterial cell walls. Specific examples thereof include lysozyme, penicillin G, glycine and so forth.

Those cell wall treatment agents may be used each alone, or two or more kinds of them may be used in combination. Among the aforementioned agents, lysozyme and penicillin G are preferred, and lysozyme is particularly preferred.

Furthermore, the transformation of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes can also be performed by applying an electric pulse to a solution containing DNA and the host cells of which cell walls has been weakened by a physical method such as ultrasonication (FEMS Microbiology Letters, 151, 135–138 (1987)).

In order to efficiently express a gene contained in the DNA of the present invention, a promoter that functions in the host cell such as lac, trp and P_(L) may be ligated upstream from the coding region of the gene. If a vector containing a promoter is used as the vector, ligation of each gene, vector and promoter can be attained by one step.

The proteins of the present invention, which can be produced as described above, can be purified as required from a cell extract or medium by using usual methods for purifying enzymes such as ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, adsorption chromatography, salting out and solvent precipitation.

It is expected that the proteins of the present invention are excellent in thermal stability or exhibit higher activity at high temperatures compared with the corresponding proteins of Corynebacterium glutamicum and so forth. For example, GDH of Brevibacterium lactofermentum shows the highest GDH specific activity around 37° C., and the activity is markedly reduced around 42° C. However, GDH of the present invention shows at 42° C. the GDH activity equivalent to or higher than the activity at 37° C. In a preferred embodiment, GDH of the present invention shows the highest specific activity around 42° C., and shows the activity even at 45° C.

The GDH activity can be measured by, for example, adding the enzyme to 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 20 mM NH₄Cl, 10 mM sodium α-ketoglutarate, 0.25 mM NADPH, and determining change of absorbance at 340 nm (Molecular Microbiology 6, 317–326 (1992)).

Further, CS of Brevibacterium lactofermentum shows the highest CS specific activity around 23° C., and the activity is markedly reduced around 33° C. To the contrary, CS of the present invention shows at 37° C. the CS activity equivalent to or higher than the activity at 23° C. In a preferred embodiment, CS of the present invention shows reaction temperature-dependently higher activity up to around 37° C., and shows, even at 40° C., about 40% of the activity with respect to the activity at 37° C.

The CS activity can be measured by, for example, the method described in Methods in Enzymol., 13, 3–11 (1969).

Further, other proteins of the present invention typically have the following characteristics. The isocitrate lyase has 30% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at 50° C. for 5 minutes. The phosphofructokinase has, at 60° C., the activity equivalent to or higher than the activity at 30° C. The phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase has 50% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at 45° C. for 5 minutes. The aconitase has 30% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at 50° C. for 3 minutes. The isocitrate dehydrogenase has 50% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at 45° C. for 10 minutes. The 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase has 30% or more of residual activity after a heat treatment at 50° C. for 10 minutes.

The proteins of the present invention can also be obtained from cell extracts of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes such as the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain by using each activity as an index and usual purification methods for purifying enzymes such as ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, adsorption chromatography, salting out and solvent precipitation.

Among the DNA of the present invention, pfk, pdhA, PC, ppc, acn, icd, gdh and gltA (names of the enzymes encoded by these are shown in Table 1) can be introduced into L-amino acid production bacteria such as coryneform bacteria to enhance their L-amino acid producing ability. It is also expected that coryneform bacteria introduced with the DNA of the present invention become possible to produce L-amino acid at a temperature higher than usual. The L-amino acid includes L-glutamic acid, L-aspartic acid, L-lysine, L-arginine, L-proline, L-glutamine and so forth.

For example, it is expected that L-glutamic acid production bacteria such as coryneform bacteria introduced with the gdh gene or gltA gene come to be able to produce L-glutamic acid at a temperature higher than usual. Further, although CS of Brevibacterium lactofermentum may not fully function at a usual culture temperature, for example, 31.5° C., the activity can be enhanced by introducing the gltA gene of the present invention.

Further, dtsR1 and dtsR2 are genes that code for proteins imparting resistance to surfactant to coryneform bacteria (DTSR protein), and coryneform L-glutamic acid producing bacteria of which these genes are disrupted produce a marked amount of L-glutamic acid even under a condition where biotin is present in such an amount that a wild strain becomes to be substantially unable to produce L-glutamic acid. Further, if dtsR1 and dtsR2 genes of coryneform L-glutamic acid producing bacteria having L-lysine producing ability are amplified, the bacteria are imparted with an ability to produce a marked amount of L-lysine (WO95/23224, Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 10-234371/1998).

The scrB gene can be used for improvement of coryneform bacteria for use in the production of L-amino acids by using coryneform bacteria in a medium containing sucrose.

By deleting aceA, accBC, lpd or odhA of L-glutamic acid producing coryneform bacteria and so forth, their L-glutamic acid productivity can be enhanced. Further, gluABCD is a gene cluster of the L-glutamic acid uptake system, and by deleting one to four of gluA, gluB, gluC and gluD in coryneform L-glutamic acid producing bacteria, the amount of L-glutamic acid accumulated in the medium can be increased. aceA, accBC, lpd, odhA and gluABCD of the present invention can be used for disruption of these genes on chromosome.

The medium used for producing L-amino acids by utilizing a microorganism introduced with the DNA of the present invention may be a usual medium that contains a carbon source, a nitrogen source, inorganic ions and other organic trace nutrients as required. As the carbon source, there can be used hydrocarbons such as glucose, lactose, galactose, fructose, sucrose, blackstrap molasses and starch hydrolysate; alcohols such as ethanol and inositol; or organic acids such as acetic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid and succinic acid.

As the nitrogen source, there can be used inorganic ammonium salts such as ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, ammonium chloride, ammonium phosphate and ammonium acetate, ammonia, organic nitrogen such as peptone, meat extract, yeast extract, corn steep liquor and soybean hydrolysate, ammonia gas, aqueous ammonia and so forth.

As the inorganic ions (or sources thereof), added is a small amount of potassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, iron ions, manganese ions and so forth. As for the organic trace nutrients, it is desirable to add required substances such as vitamin B₁, yeast extract and so forth in a suitable amount as required.

The culture is preferably performed under an aerobic condition attained by shaking, stirring for aeration or the like for 16 to 72 hours. The culture temperature is controlled to be at 30° C. to 47° C., and pH is controlled to be 5 to 9 during the culture. As for the culture temperature, the culture may be performed at a temperature suitable for culture of a microorganism not introduced with the DNA of the present invention or a temperature higher than that. For adjustment of pH, inorganic or organic acidic or alkaline substances, ammonia gas and so forth can be used.

Collection of L-amino acids from fermentation broth can be attained by a combination of known methods such as techniques utilizing ion exchange resin, precipitation, crystallization and so forth depending on the kind of the L-amino acids.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows variation with temperature in activity of glutamate dehydrogenases derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain.

FIG. 2 shows thermal stability of glutamate dehydrogenases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 3 shows variation with temperature in activity of citrate synthases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 4 shows thermal stability of citrate synthases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 5 shows variation with temperature in activity of isocitrate lyases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 6 shows thermal stability of isocitrate lyases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 7 shows variation with temperature in activity of phosphofructokinases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 8 shows thermal stability of phosphofructokinases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 9 shows variation with temperature in activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 10 shows thermal stability of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 11 shows variation with temperature in activity of aconitases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 12 shows thermal stability of aconitases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 13 shows variation with temperature in activity of isocitrate dehydrogenases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 14 shows thermal stability of isocitrate dehydrogenases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 15 shows thermal stability of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenases derived from the AJ12310 strain and the 2256 strain.

FIG. 16 shows construction of plasmid pSCR155 carrying scrB gene.

FIG. 17 shows construction of plasmid pPDHA-2 carrying pdhA gene.

FIG. 18 shows L-glutamic acid productivity of a pdhA gene-amplified strain: (a) 37° C. and (b) 44° C.

FIG. 19 shows is construction of a plasmid pICD-4 carrying icd gene.

FIG. 20 shows L-glutamic acid productivity of an icd gene-amplified strain: (a) 37° C. and (b) 44° C.

FIG. 21 shows construction of plasmids pHSG299YGDH and pYGDH.

FIG. 22 shows construction of plasmids pHSG299YCS and pYCS.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereafter, the present invention will be further specifically explained with reference to the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1

<1>Production of Plasmid Library of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes

The Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain was cultured in CM2B liquid medium (1 g/dl of yeast extract (produced by Difco), 1 g/dl of polypeptone (produced by Nippon Seiyaku), 0.5 g/dl of NaCl, 10 μg/dl of biotin, pH 7.0 (adjusted with KOH)) at 37° C. for 15 hours, and its chromosomal DNA was prepared from the 10 ml of the medium by using a chromosomal DNA extraction kit (Bacterial Genome DNA Purification Kit (produced by Advanced Genetic Technologies)). The obtained DNA was partially digested with a restriction enzyme Sau3AI, and subjected to 0.8% agarose gel electrophoresis to fractionate the DNA. Then, a band corresponding to a DNA fragment of about 4 to 6 kb was excised from the gel, and a DNA fragment of the objective size was obtained by using a DNA gel extraction kit (GIBCO BRL, Concert™ Rapid Gel Extraction System).

The plasmid pHSG399 (produced by Takara Shuzo) was fully digested with BamHI, and its end was dephosphorylated by using alkaline phosphatase (CIAP; produced by Takara Shuzo). This vector fragment and the aforementioned chromosomal DNA fragment were ligated by using a DNA ligation kit produced by Takara Shuzo, and Escherichia coli JM109 was the transformed with the obtained recombinant vector. Selection of transformants was performed on LB agar medium (containing 1.5 g/dl of agar) containing 30 μg/ml of chloramphenicol, 0.04 mg/ml of IPTG (isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside) and 0.04 mg/ml of X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactoside) to obtain about 4000 white colonies.

<2> Design of Primers for Amplification of Each Gene

Primers for use in selection of a clone containing each target gene by PCR from the plasmid library obtained above were designed. The target genes were mentioned above.

The primers were designed based on a known gene sequence of coryneform bacteria, i.e., its sequence of a region where conservation at the amino acid level was observed when compared with corresponding genes of other microorganisms. Considering the codon usage of coryneform bacteria, a plurality of primer sets were designed for each gene.

To examine propriety of the prepared primers, PCR was performed by using these primers and chromosomal DNA of the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain as a template to amplify each gene fragment. As a result, when the PCR was performed by using the primers shown in the upper rows of Tables 2 to 7 under the conditions indicated as “PCR conditions for obtaining partial fragment” in the tables, an amplified fragment was observed for all of the genes. The parenthesized numbers after the primer sequences indicate the sequence numbers in Sequence Listing. These primers were used as primers for screening mentioned below.

TABLE 2 Gene aceA accBC dtsR1 5′→3′Primer CCTCTACCCAGCGAACTCCG (35) CATCCACCCCGGCTACGGCT (37) ACGGCCCAGCCCTGACCGAC (39) 3′→5′Primer CTGCCTTGAACTCACGGTTC (36) CGGTGACTGGGTGTTCCACC (38) AGCAGCGCCCATGACGGCGA (40) PCR conditions for 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min obtaining partial 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec fragment and PCR 66° C., 2 sec, 30 cycles 66° C., 2 sec, 30 cycles 66° C., 2 sec, 30 cycles conditions for Z-Taq Z-Taq Z-Taq screening Conditions of 94° C., 7 min 94° C., 7 min 94° C., 7 min colony PCR 91° C., 30 sec 91° C., 30 sec 91° C., 30 sec 55° C., 1 sec 55° C., 1 sec 55° C., 1 sec 72° C., 2.5 min, 30 cycles 72° C., 2.5 min, 30 cycles 72° C., 2.5 min, 30 cycles Ex-Taq Ex-Taq Ex-Taq Amplified fragment 824 bp 673 bp 805 bp

TABLE 3 Gene dtsR2 pfk scrB 5′→3′Primer ACGGCCCAGCCCTGACCGAC (41) CGTCATCCGAGGAATCGTCC (43) GGNCGHYTBAAYGAYCC (45) 3′→5′Primer AGCAGCGCCCATGACGGCGA (42) CGTGGCGGCCCATGACCTCC (44) GGRCAYTCCCACATRTANCC (46) PCR conditions for 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min obtaining partial 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec fragment and PCR 66° C., 2 sec, 30 cycles 66° C., 2 sec, 30 cycles 50° C., 10 sec conditions for Z-Taq Z-Taq 72° C., 20 sec, 40 cycles screening Z-Taq Conditions of 94° C., 7 min 94° C. 7 min 94° C., 7 min colony PCR 91° C., 30 sec 91° C. 30 sec 91° C., 30 sec 55° C., 1 sec 55° C. 1 sec 55° C., 1 sec 72° C., 2.5 min, 30 cycles 72° C. 2.5 min 30 cycles 72° C., 2.5 min, 30 cycles Ex-Taq ExTaq Ex-Taq Amplified fragment 805 bp 472 bp 500 bp

TABLE 4 Gene gluABCD pdhA 5′→3′Primer CCATCCGGATCCGGCAAGTC (47) ACTGTGTCCATGGGTCTTGGCCC (49) 3′→5′Primer AATCCCATCTCGTGGGTAAC (48) CGCTGGAATCCGAACATCGA (50) PCR 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min conditions 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec for obtaining 50° C., 10 sec 50° C., 10 sec partial 72° C., 20 sec, 30 cycles 72° C., 20 sec, 30 cycles fragment Z-Taq Z-Taq Amplified 500 bp 1200 bp fragment Conditions 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min for screening 94° C., 30 sec 94° C., 30 sec PCR and 50° C., 1 min 50° C., 1 min colony PCR 72° C., 2 min, 30 cycles 72° C., 2 min, 30 cycles EX-Taq EX-Taq

TABLE 5 Gene pc ppc 5′→3′Primer GGCGCAACCTACGACGTTGCAATGCG (51) GGTTCCTGGATTGGTGGAGA (53) 3′→5′Primer TGGCCGCCTGGGATCTCGTG (52) CCGCCATCCTTGTTGGAATC (54) PCR 94° C., 5 min 94° C. 5 min conditions 98° C., 5 sec 98° C. 5 sec for 55° C., 80 sec 30 cycles 50° C. 5 sec obtaining Z-Taq 72° C. 10 sec 30 cycles partial Z-Taq fragment Amplified 781 bp 1000 bp fragment Conditions 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min for 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec screening 55° C., 80 sec 30 cycles 50° C., 5 sec PCR Z-Taq 72° C., 10 sec, 30 cycles Z-Taq Conditions 94° C., 5 min, 1 cycles 94° C., 5 min for colony 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec PCR 55° C., 80 sec, 50 cycles 50° C., 10 sec Z-Taq 72° C., 20 sec, 50 cycles Z-Taq

TABLE 6 Gene acn icd lpd 5′→3′Primer GTIGGIACIGAYTCSCATAC (55) GACATTTCACTCGCTGGACG (57) ATCATCGCAACCGGTTC (59) 3′→5′Primer GCIGGAGAIATGTGRTCIGT (56) CCGTACTCTTCAGCCTTCTG (58) CGTCACCGATGGCGTAAAT (60) PCR 94° C., 1 min 94° C., 5 min 94° C., 5 min conditions 96° C., 20 sec 98° C., 5 sec 98° C., 5 sec for obtaining 45° C., 1 min 55° C., 80 sec, 30 cycles 50° C., 10 sec partial 68° C., 2 min, 30 cycles Z-Taq 72° C., 20 sec, 30 cycles fragment EX-Taq Z-Taq Amplified 1500 bp 1500 bp 500 bp fragment Conditions Same as above Same as above 94° C., 5 min for screening 94° C., 30 sec PCR and 57° C., 1 min colony PCR 72° C., 1 min, 30 cycles Ex-Taq Screening PCR 5′→3′Primer TACGAGGAGCAGATCCTCAA 3′→5′Primer (63) TTGACGCCGGTGTTCTCCAG (64) LA cloning S1:GGTGAAGCTAAGTAGTTAGC (65) S1:CCGTACTCTTCAGCCTTCTG (67) S1:ATCATCGCAACCGGTTC (69) (N′) S2:AGCTACTAAACCTGCACC (66) S2:TCGTCCTTGTTCCACATC (68) S2:TACGAGGAGCAGATCCTCAA (70) 3′→5′Primer LA Cloning S1:GCTAACTACTTAGCTTCACC (71) S1:TCCGATGTCATCATCGAC (73) (C′) S2:GAACCAGGAACTATTGAACC (72) S2:ATGTGGAACAAGGACGAC (74) 5′→3′Primer Restrictione PstI(N′) HindIII(C′) SalI(N′) PstI(C′) HindIII enzyme Conditions N′ 94° C., 1 min 94° C., 1 min 94° C., 1 min for LA 94° C., 30 sec 94° C., 30 sec 94° C., 30 sec cloning 57° C., 2 min 57° C., 2 min 57° C., 2 min 72° C., 2 min, 30 cycles 72° C., 2.5 min, 30 cycles 72° C., 1 min, 30 cycles LA-Taq LA-Taq LA-Taq C′ 94° C., 1 min 94° C., 30 sec 57° C., 2 min 72° C., 2.5 min, 30 cycles LA-Taq

TABLE 7 Gene odhA 5′→3′Primer ACACCGTGGTCGCCTCAACG (61) 3′→5′Primer TGCTAACCCGTCCCACCTGG (62) PCR conditions 94° C., 5 min for obtaining 98° C., 5 sec partial fragment 66° C., 2 sec, 30 cycles Z-Taq Amplified 1306 bp fragment LA cloning (N′) S1:GTACATATTGTCGTTAGAACGCGTAATACGACTCA (75) 5′→3′Primer S2:CGTTAGAACGCGTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGAGA (76) Restriction XbaI Conditions for First time 94° C., 30 sec LA cloning 55° C., 2 min 72° C., 1 min 30 cycles LA-Taq Second time 94° C., 1 min 98° C., 20 sec 68° C., 15 min, 30 cycles 72° C. 10 min LA-Taq <3> Screening of Plasmid Library by PCR

A clone containing a target gene was selected from the plasmid library by PCR. Sixty colonies were picked up from each plasmid library, and replicated onto two LB agar medium plates. The 60 colonies of each plate were combined, inoculated to a test tube containing 4 ml of LB liquid medium and cultured for 15 hours. Then, a plasmid mixture was respectively obtained by using a plasmid DNA extraction kit produced by Promega. By using this plasmid mixture as a template and primers for screening prepared for each target gene, PCR was performed with the conditions shown as “conditions for screening PCR” in each table to select a clone from which a DNA fragment of the same size as that obtained by PCR using chromosomal DNA as a template had been amplified.

The nucleotide sequence of the amplified DNA fragment was determined by using a Big Dye dye terminator cycle sequencing kit produced by Perkin-Elmer, and investigating its homology to known gene information to determine if the target gene was obtained or not.

As for lpd, since any DNA fragment was not amplified with the primers produced in <2>, other primers for screening were prepared based on the determined nucleotide sequence.

<4> Selection of Clone Harboring Target Gene by Colony PCR

By using a plate that was an origin of a plasmid mixture for which amplification of the target gene fragment was confirmed, colony PCR was performed to select a clone containing the gene fragment. The colony PCR was performed with the conditions shown in Tables 2–7.

Plasmid DNA was collected from a selected transformant and the nucleotide sequence of the inserted DNA fragment was determined. When the full length of the target gene was not inserted in the inserted DNA fragment, and a upstream region, downstream region or the both were deleted, primers were prepared based on the determined nucleotide sequence, with which a gene fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence of the target gene in its full length was obtained by using TaKaRa LA PCR in vitro Cloning Kit (Takara Shuzo). Then, its nucleotide sequence was determined.

The outline of LA PCR cloning was as follows. Two kinds of primers each having one of the nucleotide sequences of two regions of the inserted DNA fragment were produced. Chromosomal DNA of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain was digested with various restriction enzymes, and ligated to a cassette primer corresponding to each of the restriction enzymes. By using this as a template, PCR was performed with a primer (S1) corresponding to a position distant from the deletion region and a cassette primer (C1) corresponding to a position outside the cassette primer among the prepared primers. Then, another PCR was performed with a primer (S2) corresponding to a position near the deletion region and a cassette primer (C2) corresponding to a position inside the cassette primer among the prepared primers. In this way, a DNA fragment containing the deleted region was obtained. By ligating the obtained DNA fragment with the already obtained DNA fragment, a DNA fragment containing the target gene in full length could be obtained. Since 5′ end of the cassette did not have a phosphate group, a nick was formed at the ligation site of the 3′ end of the DNA fragment and the 5′ end of the cassette. Therefore, the DNA synthesis from the primer C1 stopped at this ligation site in the first PCR, and thus non-specific amplification did not occur. Therefore, specific amplification could be attained.

The primers and the reaction conditions used for the LA PCR cloning are shown in Tables 2–7. In the tables, the primers mentioned with “(N′)” are primers used for the cloning of an upstream deleted portion, and the primers mentioned with “(C′)” are primers used for the cloning of a downstream deleted portion. PCR was performed twice according to the instruction attached to the LA PCR cloning kit. Among the primers mentioned in the tables, the primers (S1) used for the first reaction are shown in the upper row, and the primers (S2) used for the second reaction are shown in the lower row.

The nucleotide sequences of the DNA fragments containing each gene obtained as described above were determined in the same manner as mentioned above. Those nucleotide sequences and amino acid sequences that can be encoded by those nucleotide sequences are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1–34. The sequences shown with the sequence numbers are summarized in Explanation of Sequence Listing mentioned hereinafter.

As for scrB, any open reading frame was not found. Since the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain did not have the invertase activity and did not have sucrose assimilating property, an scrB gene fragment was obtained in a similar manner from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12340 and AJ12309 strains having the sucrose assimilating property. As a result, a DNA fragment having an open reading frame was obtained from the both strains.

EXAMPLE 2 Acquisition of gdh and gltA Gene

<1> Investigation of GDH Activity of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes

Cells of a wild strain of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, the AJ12310 strain, was grown on CM-2B agar medium (1 g/dl of yeast extract (produced by Difco), 1 g/dl of polypeptone (produced by Nippon Seiyaku), 0.5 g/dl of NaCl, 10 μg/dl of biotin, 1.5 g/dl of agar, adjusted to pH 7.0 with KOH). The cells were inoculated to a 500-ml volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for flask having the following composition and cultured at 37° C. for 17 hours (until the residual sugar reached about 1 g/dl).

Similarly, cells of the 2256 strain (ATCC13869) of Brevibacterium lactofermentum grown on CM-2B agar medium were cultured at 31.50° C. for 17 hours.

[Medium for flask] Glucose 3 g/dl KH₂PO₄ 0.1 g/dl MgSO₄.H₂O 0.04 g/dl FeSO₄.7H₂O 1 mg/dl MnSO₄.4H₂O 1 mg/dl Vitamin B₁-HCl 200 μg/L Biotin 50 μg/L (NH₄)₂SO₄ 1.5 g/dl

-   Soybean protein hydrolysis solution 48 mg/dl -   (Memeno (T-N)) -   CaCO₃ (Official regent) 5 g/dl (separately sterilized) pH 8.0     (adjusted with KOH)

About 1 ml of the above culture medium was centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 1 minute to remove CaCO₃, and the cells were washed twice with 200 mM K-phosphate buffer (pH 6.9) and suspended in 300 μl of the same buffer. The obtained cell suspension was sonicated for 5 minutes to disrupt the cells, centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 30 minutes to obtain a crude enzyme solution as the supernatant.

The optimum reaction temperature and the thermal stability of GDH activity were investigated using the aforementioned crude enzyme solution. The measurement of GDH activity was performed by adding the crude enzyme solution to a reaction mixture (100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 20 mM NH₄Cl, 10 mM sodium α-ketoglutarate, 0.25 mM NADPH) and measuring change of absorbance at 340 nm. The protein concentration of the crude enzyme solution was quantified by the Bradford method (Bio-Rad Protein Assay Kit was used) using bovine serum albumin as the standard through measurement of absorbance at 595 nm. The absorbance was measured by using HITACHI U-2000 (produced by Hitachi).

The GDH activity measured at various reaction temperatures is shown in FIG. 1. While the ATCC13869 strain showed the highest specific activity of GDH around 37° C. and the activity markedly decreased around 42° C., the AJ12310 strain showed the highest specific activity around 42° C. and it showed the activity even at 45° C.

Then, the thermal stability of GDH was investigated. The crude enzyme solution was left at 65° C. for 0 to 30 minutes before the reaction, and then the enzyme activity was measured at 30° C. The results are shown in FIG. 2. As clearly seen from the results, while GDH of the ATCC13869 strain was inactivated by the heat treatment for 5 minutes, GDH of the AJ12310 strain maintained the activity even after the heat treatment for 30 minutes. In addition, the crude enzyme solution of the AJ12310 strain showed substantially no change in the GDH activity even after the heat treatment at 65° C. for 90 minutes (data are not shown).

<2> Examination of CS Activity of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes

The optimum reaction temperature and thermal stability of CS were investigated by using crude enzyme solutions prepared from the cells of the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and the Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC13869 strain in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement of CS activity was performed by adding each crude enzyme solution to a reaction mixture (100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 0.1 mM DTNB (5,5′-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid)), 200 mM sodium L-glutamate, 0.3 mM acetyl CoA), and measuring change of the absorbance at 412 nm.

The CS activity measured at various reaction temperatures is shown in FIG. 3. The ATCC13869 strain showed the highest specific activity of CS around 23° C. and the activity markedly decreased around 33° C. However, the AJ12310 strain showed high specific activity in a reaction temperature-dependent manner up to around 37° C. and it showed the activity even at 40° C. in a degree corresponding to about 40% of the activity at 37° C.

Then, thermal stability of CS was investigated. The crude enzyme solution was left at 33–55° C. for 5 minutes before the reaction, and then the enzyme activity was measured at 30° C. The results are shown in FIG. 4. Whereas CS of the ATCC13869 strain was inactivated by the heat treatment at 35–40° C., CS of the AJ12310 strain maintained about 40% of the activity even after the heat treatment at 50° C.

<3> Acquisition of gdh Gene of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes

The already reported nucleotide sequences of gdh gene of various microorganisms were compared. A region in which nucleotide sequences were well conserved was selected, and primers having the nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 77 and 78 were prepared based on the nucleotide sequence of the region.

PCR was performed by using chromosomal DNA prepared from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain using Bacterial Genome DNA Purification Kit (produced by Advanced Genetic Technologies) as a template and the aforementioned primers. Based on the obtained DNA fragment, genome walking was performed by using TaKaRa LA PCR in vitro Cloning Kit (produced by Takara Shuzo) to obtain the whole gdh gene, of which whole nucleotide sequence was determined. The result is shown in SEQ ID NO: 79. Further, the amino acid sequence deduced from this nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 80.

The gdh gene of the Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC13869 strain was obtained in a similar manner, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The result is shown in SEQ ID NO: 81. The amino acid sequence encoded by this nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 82.

Homology was investigated for the nucleotide sequences of the gdh gene and the amino acid sequences of GDH of the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and the Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC13869 strain determined as described above, and the known gdh gene and amino acid sequence of GDH of the Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum) ATCC13032 strain (Molecular Microbiology 6, 317–326 (1992)). The results are shown in Table 8 (for nucleotide sequences) and Table 9 (for amino acid sequences).

TABLE 8 Homology of nucleotide sequences of various gdh genes ATCC13869 ATCC13032 AJ12310 ATCC13869 — 94.5% 82.4% ATCC13032 — — 78.1% AJ12310 — — —

TABLE 9 Homology of amino acid sequences of various GDH ATCC13869 ATCC13032 AJ12310 ATCC13869 — 90.8% 91.7% ATCC13032 — — 83.4% AJ12310 — — — <4> Acquisition of gltA Gene of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes

The already reported nucleotide sequences of gltA gene of various microorganisms were compared. A region in which nucleotide sequences were well conserved was selected, and primers having the nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 83 and 84 were prepared based on the nucleotide sequence of the region.

PCR was performed by using chromosomal DNA prepared from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain (FERM BP-1542) using Bacterial Genome DNA Purification Kit (produced by Advanced Genetic Technologies) as a template and the aforementioned primers 7 and 8, and the nucleotide sequence of the amplified nucleotide sequence of about 0.9 kb was determined.

On the basis of the obtained nucleotide sequence of gltA gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum (Microbiol., 140, 1817–1828 (1994)), the primers of SEQ ID NOS: 85, 86, 87 and 88 were prepared. PCR was performed in a manner similar to the above by using chromosomal DNA of AJ12310 as a template and the primers of SEQ ID NOS: 85, 86, 87 and 88, and the nucleotide sequence of the amplified DNA fragment was specified to determine the whole nucleotide sequence of the gltA gene. The result is shown in SEQ ID NO: 89. Further, an amino acid sequence expected from this nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 90.

The gltA gene of the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain was obtained in a similar manner, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The result is shown in SEQ ID NO: 91. The amino acid sequence encoded by this nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 92.

Homology was investigated for the nucleotide sequences of the gltA gene and the amino acid sequences of CS of the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and the Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC13032 strain determined as described above, and the known gltA gene and amino acid sequence of CS of the Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032 strain (Microbiol., 140, 1817–1828 (1994)). The results are shown in Table 10 (for nucleotide sequences) and Table 11 (for amino acid sequences).

TABLE 10 Homology of nucleotide sequences of various gltA genes ATCC13869 ATCC13032 AJ12310 ATCC13869 — 99.5% 85.7% ATCC13032 — — 85.6% AJ12310 — — —

TABLE 11 Homology of amino acid sequences of various CS ATCC13869 ATCC13032 AJ12310 ATCC13869 — 99.3% 92.1% ATCC13032 — — 92.1% AJ12310 — — —

EXAMPLE 3 Acquisition of scrB Gene of Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes

Since an scrB gene fragment was obtained from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12309 strain as shown in Example 1, it was attempted to obtain the total sequence of the gene. First, a partial fragment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 using the primers shown in SEQ ID NO: 45 and SEQ ID NO: 46. These primers were synthesized based on the scrB sequence of the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 08-196280/1996).

Separately, chromosomal DNA was prepared from the AJ12309 strain by using Bacterial Genome DNA Purification Kit (Advanced Genetic Technologies Corp.). Sterilized water was added to 0.5 μg of this chromosomal DNA, 50 pmol each of the aforementioned primers, 4 μl of dNTP mixture (2.5 mM each), 5 μl of 10× Z-Taq Buffer (Takara Shuzo) and 2 U of Z-Taq (Takara Shuzo) to prepare a PCR reaction mixture in a total volume of 50 μl. PCR was performed with a cycle of denaturation at 98° C. for 5 seconds, association at 50° C. for 10 seconds and extension reaction at 72° C. for 20 seconds, which was repeated for 30 cycles, by using the above reaction mixture and a thermal cycler GeneAmp PCR System 9600 (PE) to amplify a partial fragment of scrB of about 600 bp.

Then, the total sequence of scrB was determined by using an LA PCR in vitro Cloning Kit (Takara Shuzo). All of the procedure was performed in accordance with the protocol attached to the LA PCR in vitro Cloning Kit. Based on the obtained partial sequence, primers shown in SEQ ID NOS: 97, 98, 99 and 100 were synthesized. For the first PCR reaction for sequencing an upstream region, the primers shown in SEQ ID NOS: 95 and 97 and chromosomal DNA of AJ12309 strain digested with EcoT14I as a template DNA were used. For the second PCR reaction, the primers shown in SEQ ID NOS: 96 and 98 were used. For the first PCR reaction for sequencing a downstream region, the primers shown in SEQ ID NOS: 95 and 99 and chromosomal DNA of AJ12309 strain digested with SalI (Takara Shuzo) as a template DNA were used. For the second PCR reaction, the primers shown in SEQ ID NOS: 96 and 100 were used. By the above procedure, a sequence of a full length of 1656 bp containing ORF of scrB was determined. This nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 93, and a deduced amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 94.

EXAMPLE 4 Examination of Thermal Stability of isocitrate lyase, phosphofructokinase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase

Thermal stability was investigated for the following enzymes derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes. In this Example, protein concentrations were measured by the Bradford method (Bio-Rad Protein Assay Kit was used) using bovine serum albumin as a standard protein. Further, measurement of absorbance was performed by using HITACHI U-2000 (Hitachi) unless otherwise indicated.

<1> Isocitrate Lyase

Thermal stability of activity of isocitrate lyase (henceforth also referred to as “ICL”) derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and ICL derived from the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain (ATCC13869) was investigated. For the activity measurement, used were cells of which culture in a medium having the composition mentioned in Table 2 was terminated before all of the carbon source was completely consumed. The method of the activity measurement was one described in Dieter J. Reinscheid et al., J. Bacteriol., 176 (12), 3474 (1994). Specifically, the cells were washed with 50 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.3), suspended in the same buffer, and disrupted by sonication (INSONATOR 201M produced by KUBOTA was used, 200 W, 5 minutes). After the sonication, the suspension was centrifuged (13000× g, 30 minutes) to remove undisrupted cells to prepare a crude enzyme solution.

The crude enzyme solution was added to a reaction system containing 50 mM MOPS-NaOH (pH 7.3), 5 mM dithiothreitol, 15 mM MgCl₂, 1 mM EDTA, 5 mM D-threo-isocitrate, 0.2 mM NADH and 18 U of LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), and absorbance at 340 nm at various temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60 or 70° C.) was measured by a Hitachi spectrophotometer U-3210. The measurement results for various reaction temperatures were shown in FIG. 5. Further, the crude enzyme solution was pretreated at 50° C. (pretreatment time: 5 minutes or 15 minutes), and the activity was measured at 37° C. The results are shown in FIG. 6.

As a result, ICL of the AJ12310 strain showed the maximum activity at 60° C., whereas ICL of the 2256 strain showed the maximum activity around 50° C. Further, while ICL of the 2256 strain was completely inactivated after the pretreatment for 5 minutes, ICL of the AJ12310 strain maintained half of the activity after the pretreatment for 5 minutes. Thus, the stability of ICL of the AJ12310 strain at high temperatures was confirmed.

TABLE 12 Composition of medium for ICL activity measurement Component Concentration (NH₄)₂SO₄ 5 g/l Urea 5 g/l KH₂PO₄ 0.5 g/l K₂HPO₄ 0.5 g/l MOPS 20.9 g/l MgSO₄.7H₂O 0.25 g/l CaCl₂.7H₂O 10 mM CuSO₄.7H₂O 0.2 mg/l Biotin 0.2 mg/l MnSO₄.7H₂O 10 mg/l FeSO₄.7H₂O 10 mg/l ZnSO₄.7H₂O 1 mg/l Acetic acid 4% <2> Phosphofructokinase

Thermal stability of activity of phosphofructokinase (henceforth also referred to as “PKF”) derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and PKF derived from the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain was investigated. For the activity measurement, used were cells of which culture in a medium having the composition mentioned in Table 13 was terminated before all of the saccharide was completely consumed. The method of the activity measurement was one described in Michiko Mori et al., Agric. Biol. Chem., 51 (10), 2671 (1994). Specifically, the cells were washed with 0.1 M Tris buffer (pH 7.5), suspended in the same buffer, and disrupted by sonication (INSONATOR 201M produced by KUBOTA was used, 200 W, 5 minutes). After the sonication, the suspension was centrifuged (13000×g, 30 minutes) to remove undisrupted cells to obtain a crude enzyme solution.

The crude enzyme solution was added to a reaction system containing 100 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.5), 0.2 mM NADH, 10 mM MgCl₂, 2 mM NH₄Cl, 10 mM KCl, 0.2 mM phosphoenolpyruvic acid, 6.4 mM fructose-6-phosphate, 1 mM ATP and 40 μg of LDH/PK (pyruvate kinase), and absorbance at 340 nm was measured at various temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60 or 70° C.) by a Hitachi spectrophotometer U-3210. The measurement results for various reaction temperatures were shown in FIG. 7. Further, the crude enzyme solution was pretreated at 50° C. (pretreatment time: 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes), and the activity was measured at 37° C. The results are shown in FIG. 8.

As a result, PKF of the AJ12310 strain showed the maximum activity around 50° C., whereas PKF of the 2256 strain showed the maximum activity around 30° C. Thus, it was confirmed that the optimum temperature of PKF of the AJ12310 strain resided in a high temperature region.

TABLE 13 Composition of medium for PFK activity measurement Component Concentration Polypeptone 20 g/l Yeast extract 20 g/l Sodium chloride  5 g/l Glucose 20 g/l <3> Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase

Thermal stability of activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (henceforth also referred to as “PEPC”) derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and PEPC of the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain was examined.

Cells of the AJ12310 strain grown on CM-2B agar medium were inoculated to a 500-ml volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for flask (8 g/dl of Glucose, 0.1 g/dl of KH₂PO₄, 0.04 g/dl of MgSO₄H₂O, 1 mg/dl of FeSO₄.7H₂O, 5 mg/dl of MnSO₄.4H₂O, 3 g/dl of (NH₄)₂SO₄, 48 mg/dl of TN (soybean protein hydrolysis solution), 200 μg/L of vitamin B₁, 300 μg/L of biotin, 50 μl/l of GD-113 (antifoaming agent), 5 g/dl of CaCO₃ (official regent, separately sterilized), pH 8.0 (adjusted with KOH)), and cultured at 37° C. Cells of the 2256 strain grown on CM-2B agar medium were similarly cultured at 31.5° C.

The above culture broth in which the cells were grown to the logarithmic growth phase was centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 1 minute to remove CaCO₃, and the cells were washed 3 times with washing buffer (100 mM Tris/HCl pH 8.0, 10 mM MgSO₄, 1 mM DTT, 20% glycerol), sonicated to disrupt the cells, and centrifuged at 15 krpm for 10 minutes to remove cell debris. The supernatant was further centrifuged at 60 krpm for 1 hour to obtain a crude enzyme solution as the supernatant.

By using the above crude enzyme solution, optimum reaction temperature and thermal stability of the PEPC activity were investigated. The measurement of PEPC activity was performed by adding the crude enzyme solution to a reaction mixture (100 mM Tris/H₂SO₄ (pH 8.5), 5 mM phosphoenolpyruvic acid, 10 mM KHCO₃, 0.1 mM acetyl-CoA, 0.15 mM NADH, 10 mM MgSO₄, 10 U of malate dehydrogenase, 0.1 mM DTT), and measuring change of the absorbance at 340 nm in 800 μl of reaction volume.

The PEPC activity measured at various reaction temperatures is shown in FIG. 9. While the activity of the 2256 strain markedly decreased at 40° C., the AJ12310 strain showed substantially no decrease of the activity even at 40° C.

Then, the thermal stability of PEPC was investigated. The crude enzyme solution was left at 45° C. for 0–20 minutes before the reaction, and then the enzyme activity was measured at 20° C. The results are shown in FIG. 10. As clearly seen from the results, whereas the PEPC activity of the 2256 strain was substantially lost after the heat treatment for 10 minutes, PEPC of the AJ12310 strain maintained the activity even after the heat treatment for 20 minutes.

These results demonstrated the stability of PEPC of the AJ12310 strain at a high temperature.

<4> Aconitase

Aconitase (henceforth also referred to as “ACN”) derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and ACN derived from the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain were measured, and thermal stability thereof was examined.

Cells of the AJ12310 strain grown on CM-2B agar medium were inoculated to a 500-ml volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for flask having the same composition as mentioned in <3>, and cultured at 37° C. Cells of the 2256 strain grown on CM-2B agar medium were similarly cultured at 31.5° C.

The above culture broth in which the cells were grown to the logarithmic growth phase was centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 1 minute to remove CaCO₃, and the cells were washed 3 times with 50 mM Tris/HCl pH 7.5, sonicated to disrupt the cells, and centrifuged at 15 krpm for 10 minutes to obtain a crude enzyme solution as the supernatant.

By using the above crude enzyme solution, optimum reaction temperature and thermal stability of ACN activity were investigated. The measurement of ACN activity was performed by adding the crude enzyme solution to a reaction mixture (20 mM Tris/HCl (pH7.5), 50 mM NaCl, 20 mM isocitrate.3Na), and measuring change of the absorbance at 240 nm in 800 μl of reaction volume.

The ACN activity measured at various reaction temperatures is shown in FIG. 11. The AJ12310 strain showed higher activity at a higher temperature compared with the 2256 strain.

Then, the thermal stability of ACN was investigated. The crude enzyme solution was left at 50° C. for 0–15 minutes before the reaction, and then the enzyme activity was measured at 30° C. The results are shown in FIG. 12. As clearly seen from the results, ACN of the AJ12310 strain showed less activity decrease due to the heat treatment compared with ACN of the 2256 strain.

These results demonstrated the stability of ACN of the AJ12310 strain at a high temperature.

<5> Isocitrate dehydrogenase

Thermal stability of activity of isocitrate dehydrogenase (henceforth also referred to as “ICDH”) derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and ICDH derived from the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain was examined.

Cells of the AJ12310 strain grown on CM-2B agar medium were inoculated to a 500-ml volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for flask having the same composition as mentioned in <3>, and cultured at 37° C. Cells of the 2256 strain grown on CM-2B agar medium were similarly cultured at 31.5° C.

The above culture broth in which the cells were grown to the logarithmic growth phase was centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 1 minute to remove CaCO₃, and the cells were washed 3 times with 50 mM Tris/HCl pH 7.5, sonicated to disrupt the cells, and centrifuged at 15 krpm for 10 minutes to obtain a crude enzyme solution as the supernatant.

By using the above crude enzyme solution, optimum reaction temperature and thermal stability of ICDH activity were investigated. The measurement of ICDH activity was performed by adding the crude enzyme solution to a reaction mixture (35 mM Tris/HCl, 0.35 mM EDTA (pH 7.5), 1.5 mM MnSO₄, 0.1 mM NADP, 1.3 mM isocitrate.3Na), and measuring change of the absorbance at 340 nm in 800 μl of reaction volume.

The ICDH activity measured at various reaction temperatures is shown in FIG. 13. While the activity of the 2256 strain markedly decreased at 70° C., substantially no activity decrease was observed even at 70° C. for the AJ12310 strain.

Then, the thermal stability of ICDH was investigated. The crude enzyme solution was left at 45° C. for 0–15 minutes before the reaction, and then the enzyme activity was measured at 30° C. The results are shown in FIG. 14. As clearly seen from the results, while only about 15% of residual activity was observed after the heat treatment for 15 minutes for the 2256 strain, about 60% of residual ICDH activity was observed for the AJ12310 strain.

These results demonstrated the stability of ICDH of the AJ12310 strain at a high temperature.

<6> 2-Oxoglutarate dehydrogenase

2-Oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (henceforth also referred to as “ODHC”) derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain and ODHC derived from the Brevibacterium lactofermentum 2256 strain were measured, and thermal stability thereof was examined.

For the activity measurement, used were cells of which culture in a medium having the composition mentioned in Table 14 was terminated before all of the saccharide was completely consumed. The method of the activity measurement was one described in Isamu Shiio et al., Agric. Biol. Chem., 44 (8), 1897 (1980). Specifically, the cells were washed with 0.2% potassium chloride, suspended in 100 mM TES-NaOH (pH 7.5), 30% glycerol solution, and disrupted by sonication (INSONATOR 201M produced by KUBOTA was used, 200 W, 5 minutes). After the disruption by sonication, the suspension was centrifuged (13000×g, 30 minutes) to remove undisrupted cells, and subjected to gel filtration using the same buffer and Sephadex-G25 to prepare a crude enzyme solution.

The crude enzyme solution was added to a reaction system containing 100 mM TES-NaOH (pH 7.7), 5 mM MgCl₂, 0.2 mM Coenzyme A, 0.3 mM cocarboxylase, 1 mM α-ketoglutaric acid, 3 mM L-cysteine and 1 mM acetylpyridine-adenine dinucleotide, and absorbance at 365 nm was measured at various temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60 or 70° C.) by a Hitachi spectrophotometer U-3210. The crude enzyme solution was pretreated at 50° C. (pretreatment time: 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes), and the activity was measured at 37° C. The results are shown in FIG. 15.

As a result, while ODHC of the 2256 strain was completely inactivated by the pretreatment for 10 minutes, ODHC of the AJ12310 strain showed substantially constant activity irrespective of the pretreatment time, and thus its stability against high temperature treatment was confirmed.

TABLE 14 Composition of medium for ODHC activity measurement Component Concentration Glucose 80 g/l KH₂PO₄ 1 g/l MgSO₄.7H₂O 0.4 g/l FeSO₄.7H₂O 0.01 g/l MnSO₄.7H₂O 0.05 g/l (NH₄)₂SO₄ 30 g/l Soybean protein 480 mg/l hydrolysate Thiamin 200 μg/l hydrochloride Biotin 300 μg/l

EXAMPLE 5 Impartation of Sucrose Assimilating Ability by Gene Transfer of scrB Gene

Since the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain did not have invertase activity and sucrose assimilating property, it was investigated if sucrose assimilating ability could be imparted to it by transferring the scrB gene of the AJ12309 strain to the strain.

<1> Production of Plasmid Carrying scrB Derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12309 Strain

To obtain an scrB gene fragment, the primers shown in SEQ ID NOS: 101 and 102 were synthesized, of which both ends were ligated with SmaI sequences, based on the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 93. Sterilized water was added to 0.5 μg of chromosomal DNA of the 12309 strain, 50 pmol each of the aforementioned oligonucleotides, 4 μl of dNTP mixture (2.5 mM each), 5 μl of 10× Pyrobest Buffer (Takara Shuzo) and 2 U of Pyrobest polymerase (Takara Shuzo) to prepare a PCR reaction mixture in a total volume of 50 μl. PCR was performed with a cycle of denaturation at 98° C. for 10 seconds, association at 55° C. for 30 seconds and extension reaction at 72° C. for 2 minutes, which was repeated for 30 cycles, by using the above reaction mixture and a thermal cycler GeneAmp PCR System 9600 (PE) to amplify a fragment of about 1.7 kb containing scrB ORF.

Then, the above amplified fragment was digested with SmaI (Takara Shuzo), and ligated to plasmid pSAC4 containing a dephosphorylated replication origin functioning in coryneform bacteria, which had been digested with SmaI, to prepare pSCR155. The construction of pSCR155 is shown in FIG. 16. pSAC4 was produced as follows. In order to make the vector for Escherichia coli pHSG399 (Takara Shuzo) autonomously replicable in coryneform bacteria, the replication origin (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 5-7491/1993) derived from the already obtained plasmid pHM1519 autonomously replicable in coryneform bacteria (Miwa, k. et al., Agric. Biol. Chem., 48 (1984) 2901–2903) was introduced into it. Specifically, pHM1519 was digested with restriction enzymes BamHI and KpnI, and the obtained fragment containing the replication origin was blunt-ended by using a Blunting kit produced by Takara Shuzo and inserted into pHSG399 at the SalI site by using an SalI linker (produced by Takara Shuzo) to obtain pSAC4.

<2> Transfer of Plasmid Carrying scrB Gene into AJ12310 Strain

pSCR155 produced above and plasmid pSSM30BS (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 08-196280/1996) carrying the scrB gene derived from Brevibacterium lactofermentum were introduced into the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain. The transformation was performed according to the following procedure. The cells were inoculated to CM-2B medium containing 20% sucrose in such an amount that OD₆₆₀ of the medium should become 0.1, and cultured at 37° C. with shaking until the OD₆₆₀ become 0.3. Lysozyme was added to the medium at a concentration of 100 μg/ml, and the cells were further cultured for 2 hours. The cells were washed three times with 20% sucrose, suspended in 20% sucrose, added with the plasmid collected from Escherichia coli JM110, mixed sufficiently, and applied with an electric pulse (18 kV/cm, 300 msec) to be introduced with the DNA. After the cells were subjected to restoration culture overnight in CM-2B medium containing 20% sucrose, transformants were selected on CM-2B agar medium containing 5 μg/ml of chloramphenicol. Specifically, the transformation was performed by the electric pulse method (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 12-204236/2000, and the selection of transformants was performed on CM2B plate medium containing 5 μg/ml of chloramphenicol at 37° C. As a result, any transformant harboring the plasmid pSSM30BS carrying scrB derived from Brevibacterium lactofermentum was not obtained, but only a transformant harboring the plasmid pSCR155 carrying scrB derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes was obtained. This strain was designated as AJ12310/pSCR155.

<3> Evaluation of Culture of AJ12310/pSCR155 Strain using Sucrose as Sugar Source.

AJ12310/pSCR155 prepared above was inoculated to a medium having the composition shown in Table 15, and cultured at 37° C. for 22 hours with shaking. The absorbance (OD) and residual sugar (RS) of the medium were measured after the culture. The results are shown in Table 16. As a result, it was confirmed that, while the AJ12310 strain could not assimilate sucrose and hence could not grow, the scrB gene introduced strain, the AJ12310/pSCR155 strain, became to be able to assimilate sucrose.

TABLE 15 Medium composition Medium composition Concentration Sucrose 60 g/l KH₂PO₄ 1 g/l MgSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.4 g/l FeSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l MnSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l (NH₄)₂SO₄ 30 g/l Soybean protein 480 mg/l hydrolysate Thiamin 200 μg/l hydrochloride Biotin 300 μg/l

TABLE 16 Result of sucrose culture OD (× 51) RS (g/l) 2256 1.292 0.00 AJ12310 0.058 60.00 AJ12310/pSCR155 1.571 0.84

EXAMPLE 6 L-Glutamic Acid Production by pdhA Gene-Amplified Strain

<1> Construction of Plasmid pPDHA-2 Carrying pdhA

The pdhA gene derived from the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain was obtained by screening of a plasmid library. Specifically, PCR was performed with the conditions shown in Example 1, Table 4, using a plasmid library mixture as a template, and a clone p21A was selected, from which a DNA fragment of the same size is amplified as obtained in PCR using chromosomal DNA as a template. The DNA sequence of this plasmid was determined to confirm that the full length of pdhA was contained in it.

p21A was digested with XbaI and KpnI to excise a DNA fragment of 4 kb containing the full length of the pdhA gene and a promoter region. This DNA fragment containing the pdhA gene was inserted into the XbaI and KpnI sites of pHSG299 (Takara Shuzo). Then, this plasmid was digested with XbaI, and a fragment obtained by digesting pXK4 with XbaI was inserted to prepare pPDHA-2. The construction process of pPDHA-2 is shown in FIG. 17. A DNA Ligation Kit Ver. 2 (Takara Shuzo) was used for the ligation reaction, and Escherichia coli JM109 strain (Takara Shuzo) was used as the host of genetic manipulation. The aforementioned pXK4 was produced as follows. A shuttle vector pHK4 for coryneform bacteria and Escherichia coli (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 5-7491/1993) was digested with restriction enzymes BamHI and KpnI to obtain a DNA fragment containing the replication origin, and the obtained fragment was blunt-ended by using a DNA blunting kit (Blunting Kit produced by Takara Shuzo), ligated to an XbaI linker (produced by Takara Shuzo) and inserted into pHSG299 at the XbaI site to obtain the plasmid pKX4.

<2> Transfer of Plasmid Carrying pdhA Gene into AJ12310 Strain

The plasmid pPDHA-2 produced above was introduced into the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain to prepare a pdhA gene-amplified strain. The transformation was performed in the same manner as Example 5, and a transformant was selected on CM-2B agar medium containing 25 μg/ml kanamycin to obtain AJ12310/pPDHA-2 strain.

<3> L-glutamic acid production by pdhA-amplified strain

The AJ12310 strain and the pdhA gene-amplified strain obtained above, AJ12310/pPDHA-2 strain, both of which were grown on CM-2B agar medium, were each inoculated to a 500-ml volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for seed culture flask shown in Table 17, and cultured at 37° C. with shaking until glucose was completely consumed. 2 ml of this culture broth was inoculated into 500 ml-volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for main culture flask shown in Table 17, and cultured as main culture at 37° C. and 44° C. The main culture was continued until glucose was completely consumed. After the culture, OD₆₂₀ of the medium and accumulated amount of L-glutamic acid were measured to examine the effect of the gene amplification on the cell formation and production of glutamic acid. The measurement of OD was performed by using a spectrophotometer HITACHI U-2000 (Hitachi), and L-glutamic acid concentration was measured by using a glutamic acid analyzer AS-210 (Asahi Chemical Industry). The results are shown in FIG. 18.

The pdhA gene-amplified strain, AJ12310/pPDHA-2 strain, showed increased L-glutamic acid accumulation and increased OD compared with the AJ12310 strain, and thus it became clear that the amplification of the pdhA gene was effective for L-glutamic acid production.

TABLE 17 Medium for evaluation of pdhA-amplified strain Medium composition Seed culture Main culture Sucrose 30 g/l 60 g/l KH₂PO₄ 1 g/l 1 g/l MgSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.4 g/l 0.4 g/l FeSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l 0.01 g/l MnSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l 0.01 g/l (NH₄)₂SO₄ 15 g/l 30 g/l Soybean protein 480 mg/l 480 mg/l hydrolysate Thiamin 200 μg/l 200 μg/l hydrochloride Biotin 10 μg/l AZ-20R (anti- 20 μg/l 20 μg/l foaming agent) CaCO₃ (separately 50 g/L 50 g/L sterilized) pH 8.0 (adjusted with KOH)

EXAMPLE 7 L-glutamic Acid Production by icd Gene-Amplified Strain

<1> Construction of Plasmid pICD-4 Carrying icd Derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 Strain

Based on the icd gene sequence of the AJ12310 strain shown in SEQ ID NO: 29, the primers shown in SEQ ID NO: 103 and SEQ ID NO: 104 were synthesized. A BglII site was introduced into 5′ end of the both primers. Separately, genomic DNA of the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain was prepared by using a Genomic DNA Purif. Kit (Edge BioSystems). Sterilized water was added to the genome DNA as a template, 100 pmol each of the aforementioned primers, 8 μl of dNTP mixture (2.5 mM each), 10 μl of 10× Pyrobest Buffer II (Takara Shuzo) and 2.5 U of Pyrobest polymerase (Takara Shuzo to prepare a PCR reaction mixture in a total volume of 100 μl. PCR was performed with a cycle of denaturation at 98° C. for 10 seconds, association at 55° C. for 1 minute and extension reaction at 72° C. for 4 minutes, which was repeated for 30 cycles, by using the above reaction mixture and a thermal cycler TP240 (Takara Shuzo) to amplify a DNA fragment of about 3.3 kb containing the icd gene and its promoter.

Then, this DNA fragment containing the icd gene was digested with BglII, and ligated to pHSG299 (Takara Shuzo) at the BamHI site. This plasmid was then treated with XbaI, and a fragment obtained by digesting pXK4 with XbaI was inserted into the plasmid to construct pICD-4. The construction procedure of pICD-4 is shown in FIG. 19. A DNA Ligation Kit Ver. 2 (Takara Shuzo) was used for the ligation reaction, and Escherichia coli JM109 strain (Takara Shuzo) was used as the host of genetic manipulation.

<2> Transfer of Plasmid Carrying icd Gene into AJ12310 Strain

The plasmid pICD-4 produced above was introduced into the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain to prepare an icd gene-amplified strain. The transformation was performed in the same manner as Example 5, and a transformant was selected on CM-2B agar medium containing 25 μg/ml kanamycin to obtain AJ12310/pICD-4 strain.

<3> L-Glutamic Acid Production by icd-Amplified Strain

Culture evaluation was performed for the AJ12310 strain and the icd-amplified strain thereof, AJ12310/pICD, by the culture method described in Example 6. The results are shown in FIG. 20. The icd gene-amplified strain AJ12310/pICD-4 strain showed increased L-glutamic acid accumulation and increased OD compared with the AJ12310 strain, and thus it became clear that the amplification of the icd gene was effective for L-glutamic acid production.

EXAMPLE 8 L-Glutamic Acid Production by gdh Gene-Amplified Strain

<1> Construction of Plasmid Carrying gdh Derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 Strain

Based on the gdh gene sequence of the AJ12310 strain shown in SEQ ID NO: 79, the primers shown in SEQ ID NO: 105 and SEQ ID NO: 106 were synthesized.

Separately, chromosomal DNA of the AJ12310 strain was prepared by using a Bacterial Genome DNA Purification Kit (Advanced Genetic Technologies Corp.). Sterilized water was added to 0.5 μg of this chromosomal DNA, 10 pmol each of the aforementioned oligonucleotides, 8 μl of dNTP mixture (2.5 mM each), 5 μl of 10×LA Taq Buffer (Takara Shuzo) and 2 U of LA Tag (Takara Shuzo) to prepare a PCR reaction mixture in a total volume of 50 μl. PCR was performed with a cycle of denaturation at 94° C. for 30 seconds, association at 55° C. for 1 second and extension reaction at 72° C. for 3 minutes, which was repeated for 30 cycles, by using the above reaction mixture and a thermal cycler TP240 (Takara Shuzo) to amplify a DNA fragment of about 2 kb containing the gdh gene and its promoter. The obtained amplified fragment was digested with PstI (Takara Shuzo), mixed with pHSG299 (Takara Shuzo) fully digested with PstI and ligated to it. A DNA Ligation Kit Ver. 2 produced by Takara Shuzo was used for the ligation reaction. After the ligation, competent cells of Escherichia coli JM109 (produced by Takara Shuzo) were transformed with the ligation product, plated on L medium (10 g/l of Bacto-trypton, 5 g/l of Bacto-yeast extract, 5 g/l of NaCl, 15 g/l of agar, pH 7.2) containing 10 μg/ml of IPTG (isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside), 40 μg/ml of X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactoside) and 40 μg/ml of chloramphenicol, and cultured overnight. The emerged white colonies were picked up and subjected to single colony separation to obtain transformants.

Plasmids were prepared from the transformants by the alkali method (Text for Bioengineering Experiments, Edited by the Society for Bioscience and Bioengineering, Japan, p. 105, Baifukan, 1992) and their restriction maps were prepared. A plasmid having a restriction map equivalent to that shown in FIG. 21 was designated as pHSG299YGDH.

A replication origin that functions in coryneform bacteria was introduced into this pHSG299YGDH. Specifically, pXC4 was digested with a restriction enzyme XbaI to obtain a fragment containing a replication origin derived from pHM1519, and it was mixed with pHSG299YGDH fully digested with XbaI and ligated to it. Plasmids were prepared in the same manner as above and a plasmid having a restriction map equivalent to that shown in FIG. 21 was designated as pYGDH. pXC4 was constructed in the same manner as that for pXK4 mentioned in Example 6 except that pHSG399 (Cm^(r)) was used instead of pHSG299.

<2> Transfer of Plasmid Carrying gdh Gene into AJ12310

The plasmid produced above was introduced into the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain to prepare a gdh gene-amplified strain. The transformation was performed in the same manner as Example 5, and a transformant was selected on CM-2B agar medium containing 25 μg/ml kanamycin at 31° C. to obtain AJ12310/pYGDH.

<3> L-Glutamic Acid Production by gdh-Amplified Strain

The AJ12310 strain and the gdh gene-amplified strain obtained above, AJ12310/pYGDH strain, both of which were grown on CM-2B agar medium, were each inoculated to a 500-ml volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for seed culture flask shown in Table 18, and cultured at 37° C. with shaking until glucose was completely consumed. 2 ml of this culture broth was inoculated into 500 ml-volume flask containing 20 ml of a medium for main culture flask shown in Table 19, and cultured as main culture at 37° C. and 44° C. The main culture was continued until glucose was completely consumed. After completion of the culture, OD₆₂₀ of the medium and accumulated amount of L-glutamic acid were measured to examine the effect of the gene amplification on the cell formation and production of glutamic acid. The measurement of OD was performed by using a spectrophotometer HITACHI U-2000 (Hitachi), and L-glutamic acid concentration was measured by using a glutamic acid analyzer AS-210 (Asahi Chemical Industry).

TABLE 18 Composition of medium for seed culture Medium composition Concentration Glucose 30 g/l Ammonium sulfate 15 g/l KH₂PO₄ 1 g/l MgSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.4 g/l FeSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l MnSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l Soybean protein 0.48 g/l hydrolysate Thiamin 200 μg/l hydrochloride Biotin 10 μg/l AZ20R 0.02 ml/l CaCO₃ (separately 1 g/L sterilized) pH 8.0 (adjusted with KOH)

TABLE 19 Composition of medium for main culture Medium composition Concentration Glucose 60 g/l Ammonium sulfate 30 g/l KH₂PO₄ 1 g/l MgSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.4 g/l FeSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l MnSO₄ · 7H₂O 0.01 g/l Soybean protein 0.48 g/l hydrolysate Thiamin 200 μg/l hydrochloride AZ20R 0.02 ml/l CaCO₃ (separately 1 g/L sterilized) pH 8.0 (adjusted with KOH)

The results of the culture are shown in Table 20 and Table 21. At 37° C., the gdh-amplified strain showed higher saccharide consuming rate, better growth and higher attained OD compared with the parent strain, the AJ12310 strain. Moreover, both of the L-glutamic acid accumulation and the yield were markedly improved, i.e., 5–7%, at 37° C. Also at 44° C., the yield was improved, and the attained OD increased. On the other hand, it was confirmed that accumulation of α-ketoglutaric acid was decreased in the gdh-amplified strain. These results demonstrate that the amplification of gdh is effective for improvement in L-glutamic acid yield and reduction of byproduct.

TABLE 20 Culture result of gdh-amplified strain (37° C.) L-Glu L-Glu OD₆₂₀ accumulation yield α-KG (51 ×) (g/dl) (%) (mg/dl) AJ12310 0.58 1.74 30.7 53.9 AJ12310/PYGDH 0.65 2.23 39.3 4.1

TABLE 21 Culture result of gdh-amplified strain (44° C.) L-Glu OD₆₂₀ accumulation L-Glu yield (51 ×) (g/dl) (%) AJ12310 0.63 1.70 26.7 AJ12310/pYGDH 0.71 1.79 27.8

EXAMPLE 9 L-Glutamic Acid Production by gltA Gene-Amplified Strain

<1> Construction of Plasmid Carrying gltA Gene Derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes

Based on the gltA gene sequence of the AJ12310 strain shown in SEQ ID NO: 89, the primers shown in SEQ ID NO: 107 and SEQ ID NO: 108 were synthesized.

Separately, chromosomal DNA of the AJ12310 strain was prepared by using a Bacterial Genome DNA Purification Kit (Advanced Genetic Technologies Corp.). Sterilized water was added to 0.5 μg of this chromosomal DNA, 10 pmol each of the aforementioned oligonucleotides, 8 μl of dNTP mixture (2.5 mM each), 10 μl of 10× Pyrobest-Taq Buffer (Takara Shuzo), and 2 U of Pyrobest Taq (Takara Shuzo) to prepare a PCR reaction mixture in a total volume of 100 μl. PCR was performed with a cycle of denaturation at 94° C. for 30 seconds, association at 45° C. for 30 seconds and extension reaction at 72° C. for 3 minutes, which was repeated for 30 cycles, by using the above reaction mixture and a thermal cycler TP240 (Takara Shuzo) to amplify a DNA fragment of about 2 kb containing the gltA gene and its promoter. The obtained amplified fragment was digested with KpnI (Takara Shuzo), mixed with pHSG299 (Takara Shuzo) fully digested with KpnI and ligated to it. A DNA Ligation Kit Ver. 2 produced by Takara Shuzo was used for the ligation reaction. After the ligation, competent cells of Escherichia coli JM109 (produced by Takara Shuzo) were transformed with the ligation product, plated on L medium (10 g/l of Bacto-trypton, 5 g/l of Bacto-yeast extract, 5 g/l of NaCl, 15 g/l of agar, pH 7.2) containing 10 μg/ml of IPTG (isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside), 40 μg/ml of X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactoside) and 40 μg/ml of chloramphenicol, and cultured overnight. The emerged white colonies were picked up and subjected to single colony separation to obtain transformants.

Plasmids were prepared from the transformants by the alkali method (Text for Bioengineering Experiments, Edited by the Society for Bioscience and Bioengineering, Japan, p. 105: Baifukan, 1992) and their restriction maps were prepared. A plasmid having a restriction map equivalent to that shown in FIG. 22 was designated as pHSG299YCS.

A replication origin that is replicable in coryneform bacteria was introduced into this pHSG299YCS. Specifically, pXC4 was digested with a restriction enzyme XbaI to obtain a fragment containing a replication origin derived from pHM1519, and it was mixed with pHSG299YCS fully digested with XbaI and ligated to it. Plasmids were prepared in the same manner as above and a plasmid having a restriction map equivalent to that shown in FIG. 22 was designated as pYCS.

<2> Transfer of Plasmid Carrying gltA Gene into AJ12310 Strain

The plasmid produced above was introduced into the Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes AJ12310 strain to prepare a gltA gene-amplified strain. The transformation was performed in the same manner as Example 5, and a transformant was selected on CM-2B agar medium containing 25 μg/ml kanamycin to obtain AJ12310/pYCS.

<3> L-Glutamic Acid Production by gltA-Amplified Strain

The AJ12310 strain and the gltA gene-amplified strain obtained above, AJ12310/pYCS strain, both of which were grown on CM-2B agar medium, were cultured in the same manner as in Example 8. The results of the culture are shown in Table 22 and Table 23. Both at the culture temperatures, 37° C. and 44° C., the CS-enhanced strain showed improved glutamic acid accumulation compared with the parent strain. Further, the gltA-amplified strain showed decreased L-aspartic acid and L-lysine, which are synthesized from oxaloacetic acid.

These results demonstrate that the amplification of gltA is effective for improvement of L-glutamic acid yield and reduction of byproduct.

TABLE 22 Culture result of gltA-amplified strain (37° C.) L-Glu L-Asp L-Lys accumulation Yield accumulation accumulation (g/dl) (%) (mg/dl) (mg/dl) AJ12310 1.79 31.9 11.8 11.0 AJ12310/pYCS 2.04 36.5 8.1 7.3

TABLE 23 Culture result of gltA-amplified strain (44° C.) L-Glu L-Asp L-Lys accumulation Yield accumulation Accumula- OD (g/dl) (%) (mg/dl) tion (mg/dl) AJ12310 0.58 1.38 21.8 23.3 29.2 AJ12310/pYCS 0.65 1.84 28.8 14.1 17.2 [Explanation of Sequence Listing]

-   SEQ ID NO: 1: aceA, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 2: aceA, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 3: accBC, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 4: accBC, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 5: dtsR1, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 6: dtsR1, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 7: dtsR2, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 8: dtsR2, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 9: pfk, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 10: pfk, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 11: scrB (AJ12340), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 12: scrB (AJ12340), amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 13: scrB (AJ12309), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 14: scrB (AJ12309), amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 15: scrB (AJ12310), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 16: gluABCD, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 17: gluABCD, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 18: gluABCD, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 19: gluABCD, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 20: gluABCD, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 21: pdhA, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 22: pdhA, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 23: pc, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 24: pc, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 25: ppc, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 26: ppc, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 27: acn, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 28: acn, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 29: icd, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 30: icd, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 31: lpd, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 32: lpd, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 33: odhA, nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 34: odhA, amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 79: gdh (AJ12310), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 80: gdh (AJ12310), amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 81: gdh (2256), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 82: gdh (2256), amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 89: gltA (AJ12310), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 90: gltA (AJ12310), amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 91: gltA (2256), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 92: gltA (2256), amino acid sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 93: scrB (AJ12309), nucleotide sequence -   SEQ ID NO: 94: scrB (AJ12309), amino acid sequence

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, genes coding for enzymes of amino acid biosynthetic pathway derived from Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes, or genes coding for proteins involved in the amino acid uptake into cells.

The genes of the present invention can be utilized for the production of the aforementioned enzymes or proteins, or the breeding of amino acid producing bacteria. 

1. An isolated DNA which codes for a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 80. 2. An isolated DNA which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 79. 3. An isolated DNA which is hybridizable with the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 79 under a stringent condition, and codes for a protein showing glutamate dehydrogenase activity at 42° C. in an equivalent or higher degree compared with the activity at 37° C., and having homology of 90% or more to SEQ ID NO: 80, wherein the stringent condition is 60° C., 1× SSC and 0.1% SDS.
 4. A method for producing L-amino acid, which comprises culturing a microorganism introduced with a DNA according to claim 1 in a medium to produce and accumulate L-amino acid in the medium, and collecting the L-amino acid from the medium.
 5. A method for producing L-amino acid, which comprises culturing a microorganism introduced with a DNA according to claim 2 in a medium to produce and accumulate L-amino acid in the medium, and collecting the L-amino acid from the medium.
 6. A method for producing L-amino acid, which comprises culturing a microorganism introduced with a DNA according to claim 3 in a medium to produce and accumulate L-amino acid in the medium, and collecting the L-amino acid from the medium.
 7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the L-amino acid is L-glutamic acid.
 8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the L-amino acid is L-glutamic acid.
 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the L-amino acid is L-glutamic acid.
 10. The method according to claim 4, wherein said microorganism is a member of the genus Corynebacterium.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said microorganism is Corynebacterium glutamicum.
 12. The method according to claim 5, wherein said microorganism is a member of the genus Corynebacterium.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said microorganism is Corynebacterium glutamicum.
 14. The method according to claim 6, wherein said microorganism is a member of the genus Corynebacterium.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein said microorganism is Corynebacterium glutamicum. 